Stock-car door



R. L. SMITH.

STOCK CAR DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED JULY11.1921.

P tented June 27 2 SHEETS-SHEET l.

ATTORNEY R. L. SMITH. STOCK CA R DOOR.

APPLICATION FILED- JULY 11, 1921.

Patented June 27, 1922.

2 SHEETS-SHEET}.

ATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT LEE SMITH, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

STOCK-CAR DOOR.

Application filed July 11,

To all whom it may concern:

Be 1t known that I, ROBERT LEE SMITH, a citizen of the United States,residing at Los Angeles, in the county of Los Angeles and I State ofCalifornia, have invented a new and useful Stock-Car Door, of which thefollowing is a specification.

This invention relates to animproved door construction for railway carsand is particularly directed to a door construction having specialadvantages when applied to stock cars.

The object of the invention is to provide a door construction includinga hinged drop 15 section adapted to cooperate with a loading chute orplatform as an apron thereby eliminating the use of the individualloading I aprons with which such chutes or platforms are equipped. I

Another object is to provide a door construction having verticallyhinged doors closing the upper portion of the doorway and a horizontallyhinged drop section overlapping the lower edges of the doors when in.closed position. 7

A further object is to provide a drop section formed of two partslongitudinally hinged together, with means preventing the parts foldingtogether in one direction.

Another object is to provide a drop section extending beyond the doorcasing to prevent live stock stepping off the side of the section whenlowered for use as a loading I apron.

Another object is to provide a door construction consistingof one ormore hinged doors closing theupper portion ofthe doorway and ahorizontally hinged drop apron closing the lower portion of the doorway, with means for simultaneously locking the doors and apron.

Another object is to provide a structure having two opposed verticallyhinged doors normally closing the upper portion of the doorway and acooperating horizontally hinged drop section normally closing the lowerportion of the doorway and retaining the doors in closed position thedoors being adapted to swing outwardly between the guard rails of aloading chute to function as continuations of said guard rails and thedrop section adapted to swing downwardly to rest upon the floor of thechute to function as a loading apron.

Various other objects and advantages will be more fully apparent fromthe following Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 27, 1922.

1921. Serial No. 483,864.

Figure l is a side elevation of a portion of" a stock car having myimproved door structure and showlng the door 1n closed position. Fig. 21s a section on line w -m of F 1g. 1.

Fig. 3 is a section on line m w of Fig. 1..

Fig. 4 is a detail view showing the drop section down and resting on aloading dock, as a loading apron.

Fig. 5 is a View similar to Fig. 4 showing the drop section engaging aloading dock which is higher than the floor of the car.

Fig. 6 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the door open and the dropsection down.

Fig. 7 is a plan View of the structure as shown in Fig. 6, illustratingits cooperation with a loading chute.

Fig. 8 is an enlarged detail section on line w -a' of Fig. 1.

Fig. 9 is a perspective view of the lock bolt operating member.

In the drawings my improved door structure is illustrated as applied toa stock car and in the following description it will be described inthis connection, but it will be evident that it can be applied tovarious other types of freight cars equally as. well as to stock cars.

The use of my improved door structure on stock cars is productive offunctions and advantages beyond those incident to its use on other typesof freight cars and to afford a clear understanding of such functionsand advantages. it, is thought desirable to explain the defects of thestandard type of stock car door andthe disadvantages and :loss resultingfrom the use of such standard doors.

The standard stock car door is of the one piece sliding type and the caris provided with a removable beam extending across the I door way on theinside of thecar and positioned approximately three feet from the floor.This is what is known as a bull-bar and is for the purposeof restrainingthe live stock when the door is opened and before the loading apron isplaced imposition, further said bar protects the door against unduestrain during crowding of the cattle. As herein referred to, the loadingapron is the mechanical equivalent of what inother.

arts would be termeda gang-plank.

The general types of cattle chutes and loading docks are positioned atvarying dis tances from the tracks, said distance varying from one totwo feet and although the edges of such chutes or docks are usually of aheight somewhat below the door sill of the average car, in someinstances the relative heights are such that the car door sill will besomewhat lower than the edge of the loading chute or dock.

In loading or unloading cattle from such standard stock cars the slidingdoor must be fully opened before the loading apron can be placed inposition resting on the door sill and bridging the space between the carand the chute or dock. Further, with said sliding door open and theloading apron in place there will be an open space on each side of theapron between the ends of the guard rails of the loading chute and theside of the car.

This standard door structure and loading equipment is productive ofaccidental injury and loss of a great number of cattle during eachseason, such losses occurring in the following manner and causing alarge volume of damage claims to be filed with the various railwaycompanies annually.

It is a well known fact that after being confined in a stock car for anylength of time and especially after a rough journey,

cattle become excited and will bolt through the first opening they see.As soon as the door is opened they will crowd against the bull-bar whichunder ordinary conditions is of sufiicient strength to restrain themuntil Y the loading apron is in place. However. if, as is frequently thecase. the bull-bar is not in place. through negligence or accident, thecattle will rush out the door long before the loading apron can bepositioned andwill fall between the car and the loading chute or dockwith the result that several will become severely injured or killedbefore the cattle can be controlled and the condition remedied. In somecases where the cattle are especially wild this. same result is broughtabout by a breaking of the bullbar.

Even in cases where the cattle are relatively docile a heavy deposit offilth on the floor may cause one or more of the animals crowded againstthe bull-bar to lose their footing and slide out under the bar and downin the space between the car and the loading chute or dock.

Another cause of loss is brought about by an animal slipping or steppingofl the side of the loading apron in the space between the car and theends of the guard rails or fences of the loading chute or dock.

The structure of the present invention overcomes all of thesedisadvantages and eliminates each of the above mentioned causes ofaccident and loss. In my imary leaves 15 secured to the casing beam 0proved structure each car is provided with a loading apron as a sectionof the complete door and which is first positioned for loading orunloading before the main doors are opened, and when the main doors areopened they constitute guard rail extensions spanning the space betweenthe car and the rails of the loading chute or dock so that a continuousrunway is provided with guard rails or fences extending all the way tothe side of the car.

Vith reference to the drawings the details of coustructionof mypreferred embodiment of the invention will now be described. The doorwayof the car is defined by the sill beam 1, the top beam 2 and thevertical casing beams 3- 1. The upper portion of the doorway is closedby two doors 56 hinged to swing outwardly. Each door is constructed ofvertical bars 7 and horizontal bars 89 at the top and bottom on oppositesides of the bars 7. At the free edge of the door and extending betweenthe horizontal bars 9 is a filler strip 10 with its outer sur face flushwith the outer surfaces of the bars 9 providing a plane surfacethroughout the height of the door upon which the lock mechanism ismounted. A diagonal brace member 11 is provided and all of. said bars,the brace member and the filler strip are secured together by suitablescrews, bolts, or nails, to form a rigid door structure.

The door 5 is supported by two hinges, the stationary leaves 12 thereofbeing secured to the casing bar 4t with the movable leaves 13 extendedto the free edge of the door and secured to the respective bars 9, theouter ends of the leaves 13 being provided with outwardly projecting eyemembers 14 which are adapted to receive the lock bolts of the lockingmechanism, as will hereinafter be explained. The door at is similarlysupported by two hinges having their stationand their movable leaves 16secured to the respective bars 9 of the door and extended beyond thefree edge of the door, the ends of the leaves 16 being provided withelongated apertures adapted to fit over the eye members 1 1 of the hingeleaves 13 when the two doors are closed.

It will be noticed that the bars 7 of the two doors extend below thelower horizontal bars 8-9. the purpose of this being later pointed outin connection with the description of the locking mechanism.

The lower portion of the doorway is closed by a drop section 20 whichconsists of two parts 2 1-22 horizontally hinged together with the part21 horizontally hinged to the sill 1. The parts 2122 are formed of twolayers of boards. the outer layer running lengthwise (see Fig. 1) andthe inner layer running crosswise (see Fig. 6), the inner layer being ofa Width approximately equal to the width ofthe doorway and the boards'ofthe outer layer extending to overlap the respective casing beams 3 4.The upper corners of the overlapping portion of the part 22 arenotchedas indicated at 23 and secured to eaclrcasing beam 34 is an eyememoer'24 positioned so that when the drop section isclosed,.they extendthrough said notches 23(see' Fig. 1). Each'of the'hinges of the dropsection consists of a stationary .movable leaf 27 secured to the part 22and hingedly united to the leaf member 26.

This provides a double hinge by, which the part 21 is hinged to the carand the pa'rt 22 hinged to the part 21. The upper free end of each ofthe leaf members 27 is provided with an elongated aperture through whichthe eye, member 24 extends, when the drop section is in closed position.Removable pms 28 are inserted through the eyememfber to retain the dropsection in closed Y position, said pins being attached to the free 25ends of chains, to prevent" their becoming lost.

The drop section may be provided with one or more transverse cleats 21insuring a more secure foothold for thelive stock.

The drop section when loweredis adapted to: function loading. apron, itsfree edge in such instances engaging the edge of the floor of theloading chute or dock, as indicated at 30 in Figs. 4 and 5. Usually thedrop section engages said floor as shown in Fig. 4 and in this instanceit becomes necessary to provide .means for preventing the hinged parts21-22 from folding together or collapsing under the weight of the llXBstock. Such means comprises metal abutment strips 29 secured to theinner surfaces of each of the overlapping portions of the part 21 (seeFig. 6) and extending over but not secured to the inner surface of thepart 22 (see Figs. 4 and When, as in some instances, the floor 30 of theloading chute or dock is relatively close to and higher than the carfloor, the drop section engages said floor 30 as shown in Fig. 5, thehinge connection allowing the part 22 to drop to the floor 30 so as notto present an appreciable obstruction to the passage of the live stock.

The locking mechanism comprises lock bolts 3l32-slidable in bearingblocks 33 and axially alined to engage through the eye members 14 of thedoor 5, the bolt 31 being of suflicient length to extend through theupper eye member 14 and into a socket member 34 secured to the top beam2 and the bolt 32 being of suflicient length to extend through the lowereye member 14 and into a socket member 35 secured to the free edge ofthe drop section 20. The two lock bolts 3l32 are, respectively,connected to a lock operating member 36' by links 37 said member 36vbeing journaled ona'pivot stud 38 (see Fig; securedto the door 5. .The

member 36 is turned down as at39 (see Fig.

9) to form pivot elements, and a'hasp 40 '7O has a bifurcated end withthe furcations bent aroundthe pivot elements 39 of the member 36. Thisprovides a rotative operating member 36 and a 'hasp 4O hinged thereto.The hasp has an elongated slot 41 and*" its freeend is bent over, toprovide a handle 42. The door 4 has a-staple or eye 43 over which thehasp 4O engageswith. the staple 43 extending through the'slot41, a carseal 44,0r padlock being applied to sea-l the carr'80 When the doors areclosed and the-"drop section is .in elevated position, the top free edgeof the I drop section extends overthe projecting lower ends of each ofthe bars 7 of I the "doors This arrangement makes it unnecessary toprovide the usual removable bull-bar. i 1

In the standard sliding type of stock-car door, the bull-bar?- isabsolutely necessary u to keep the live stock. in the' car while the(Br-" dinary, detached. loading apron is removed, which it must bebefore the sliding door can be even started to b'elmoved; to closedposin In the present invention, the bull-bar is 9'5 entirely unnecessaryfor this, purpose for the reason that the doors 4, andfi, are closedfirst and before the apron section 2O is moved. Thereafter'the apronsection, is closed and the three locked in closed position.

\Vhile the construction illustrated in the drawings is of a preferableform, it is realized that many other specific forms could be devisedwithout departing from the broad scope of the present invention, as setforth in 05 the following claims.

I claim:

1. In a device of the class described, the combination with a stock carhaving a doorway, of a closure for the doorway comprising verticallyhinged doors closing the upper portion of the doorway, said doors beingconstructed and arranged to act as extensions of the loading chute guiderails when swung open, and a horizontally hinged drop section closingthe lower portion of the doorway and overlapping the doors and adaptedwhen lowered to cooperate with a loading chute or dock to function as aloading apron.

2. In a device of the class described, the combination with a stock carhaving a doorway, of a closure for the doorway comprising verticallyhinged doors, closing the upper portion of the doorway, and a two-parthingedly united drop section horizontally hinged to the door-sill withboth parts vertically aligned to close the lower portion of the doorwayand adapted when lowered for cooperation with a loading chute or dock tofunction as a loading apron,

3. In a device of the class described, the combination with a stock carhaving a doorway, of a closure for the doorway comprising opposedvertically hinged doors closing the upper portion or" the doorway, and atwo-part hingedly united drop section horizontally hinged to the doorsill with both parts vertically aligned to close the lower .portion ofthe doorway and adapted when lowered for cooperation with a loadingchute or dock to functlon as a loading apron,

the drop section being provided with means preventing its hingedlyunited parts folding together in one direction.

4. In a device of the class described, the combination with a stock carhaving a door way, of a closure for the doorway comprising verticallyhinged doors closing the up per portion of the doorway, said doors beingconstructed and arranged to act as extensions of the loading chute guiderail when swung open, and a horizontally hinged drop c on one of saidhinged doors for simultaneously locking the doors and drop section inclosed position.

6. In a device of the class described, the combination with a stock carhaving a doorway, of a closure for the doorway comprising verticallyhinged doors closing the upper portion of the doorway, a horizontallyhinged drop section closing the lower portion of thedoorway, meansretaining the drop section in closed position, and means mounted on oneof said hinged doors for simultaneously locking the doors and dropsection.

7. In a device of the class described, the combination with a stock carhaving a doorway, of a closure for the doorway including opposed doorshinged to swing outwardly, said doors being constructed and arranged toact as extensions of the loading chute guide rail when swung open, and adrop section hinged to swing downwardly for cooperation with the loadingchute to function as a loading apron, the drop section and doors closingin overlapping relation, and simultaneously operable means for retainingthe doors and drop section in closed position.

Signed atLos Angeles, California, this 2d day of July, 1921.

ROBERT LEE SMITH.

Witnesses:

CLARENCE B. FOSTER, L. BELLE WEAVER.

